Vampires Dead Ahead (9 page)

“An apartment in the Wall Street area.” Trixie rushed to get the words out. “Like Bubbles said, all we did was get him there.”

“And give him a tiny drop of potion,” Bubbles said right before Trixie elbowed her.

“Potion?” Chills ran down my spine. “What did you give Rodán?”

The Nymphs looked at each other again. “A male and female met with us the day before yesterday,” Trixie said. “They didn’t tell us their names. She said she was one of Rodán’s ‘personal play friends’ and was putting together something fun for him.”

“He has so many females,” Bubbles added.

“Somehow they knew that we know Rodán and that we … well, that we enjoy each other’s company,” Trixie said.

“They told us we needed to get Rodán to that apartment and get him to drink a potion.” Bubbles looked anxious to speak, and this time Trixie didn’t try to stop her. “It was whiteberry potion—but I think they mixed it with something else.”

“Do you know what whiteberry potion is?” Trixie said. “It’s an aphrodisiac like no other in the world.”

Bubbles had clasped her hands and was now wringing them, obviously agitated. “They said they added something to it that was supposed to make it better. It was supposed to relax him.”

“It was all made to be fun for Rodán,” Trixie added.

The two of them were now talking a mile a minute.

Bubbles sat on a couch in the messy living room. “It was part of a sexual fantasy of his of being drugged and kidnapped, and to lose all control and to be taken by a male and a female in charge, the female had told us.”

“Yes,” Trixie said. “We love Rodán and thought it would be fun to make it happen for him. He had even mentioned a similar idea to us at one time. We were told that we just couldn’t tell him what was happening. It had to be a surprise. We got him to the apartment, gave him the potion, then got paid.”

Dread had built up like a huge weight in my chest. “Was Rodán conscious when you left?”

“He was just a little groggy, but he was fine,” Trixie said, and Bubbles nodded. “We would never want him hurt. Is he hurt? What’s wrong? What’s going on?”

“So you were paid and you left.” Olivia put one hand on her hip and leaned forward a bit as she glared at the Nymphs. “Was it only this male and female who were t cle put onehere?”

Bubbles gave Trixie a quirky smirk. “Well, sort of,” Bubbles replied. “Part of the deal, besides the potion and money, was that we were able to play with two Vampire look-alikes and we left with them.”

Olivia looked as stunned as I felt at that moment. She shot me a look of concern.

“Two Vampire look-alikes,” Olivia repeated. “What happened with them?

Bubbles stopped wringing her hands. “We left and went to a place they had a mile or two away.”

Trixie nodded. “We played with them. They were so real looking and acting. We’ve done the Vampire thing before and Bubbles loves it. I’ve never been as big on it as she is. Well, not until last night. It was totally amazing.”

“Yes, they were amazing.” Bubbles added, sounding like a teenager describing her first kiss with a new crush. “They even pretended to bite us and it seemed so real.”

“It was an incredible time,” Trixie said, interrupting her Nymph partner. “We’re supposed to meet up with them again tonight for a second round.”

I suddenly felt jittery as I asked what I really didn’t want to know. “Let me see where you were bit.”

“Right here.” Trixie pointed to the right side of her neck. “But there’s no mark. It felt like he bit me on the neck, then licked the spot.”

Bubbles gave an emphatic nod. “It felt so real and it looked so real. They even had blood on their mouths.”

“I don’t know how they did it,” Trixie said. “It was amazing. We were sort of out of it for a while, like we heard a real Vampire bite would make you feel.”

Bubbles was grinning now. “Then we started to go down on—”

“Okay, that’s enough.” Olivia glared at Bubbles. “Where and when are you meeting them next?”

“Right here this evening, around eleven. We’re not on stage tonight.” Trixie stared at Olivia’s ample breasts. “You two should come tonight. You would love it.” She gave us each a flirtatious look. “
We
would love it.”

“Yes.” Bubbles looked excited, too. “Six isn’t a crowd, especially with you two a part of it. I’m sure the two Vampire players would enjoy it.”

“We’re not interested in the kinds of games you have in mind,” Olivia said.

But we would be there to see the Vampires arrive. The Nymphs just wouldn’t know it, because I would bring a team cloaked by glamours.

“What we’re interested in is finding Rodán,” Olivia said.

I studied the two dimwits. “When was the last time you saw him?”

Bubbles shrugged and looked at Trixie. “Around two thirty this morning, I think.”

Trixie screwed up her face in concentration. “We e ctio

nded the show at two as usual, then met with Rodán, then went to the apartment. So yes, that’s about right.”

I was amazed these two could tell time. I checked my phone. Close to five thirty in the afternoon. “Going on fifteen hours ago.”

“Is Rodán okay?” Trixie looked suddenly concerned.

I ignored her. “Get them to detention now,” I said to Olivia.

“Detention?” Bubbles said.

Trixie’s expression changed to panic. “We haven’t done anything illegal.”

I felt an urgent need to rush over to the apartment they’d taken Rodán to. I didn’t have time to mess with them.

“Give me the address.” I got out my phone and input the location when Bubbles gave it to me. I pulled out a pair of cuffs warded to keep almost all paranorms from getting free.

“We talked.” Bubbles backed away. “We told you all we could.”

Olivia was on the phone requesting PTF backup as I advanced on them.

“Give me any problems now and I’ll make sure they give you the worst cells in the darkest, dankest places in the detention center,” I said.

The Nymphs looked like they were about to burst into tears as they held out their wrists and I cuffed them. Two afghans were lying on the couch, and Olivia threw one around each of them.

As soon at the PTF arrived, Olivia and I hurried to the Wall Street address.

We’d called Colin, Joshua, and Angel for backup, and they met us on the street level after we parked the ’Vette. I gave them the rundown as we headed into the apartment building.

We showed the doorman our fake human law enforcement credentials. Paranorm creds just didn’t have the same effect. The five of us split up into two groups. Olivia, Joshua, and I took the elevator. Just in case whoever was in there got wind of us coming, Angel and Colin headed up the stairs to cover that exit.

It didn’t take us long to locate the apartment. The hallway was quiet as we stayed out of view of the door. Colin and Angel showed up at virtually the same time. Colin could have beaten us if he wasn’t on the lookout for anyone coming down the stairs. Angel had likely zipped upstairs in her squirrel form.

I nodded to Joshua, who faded. The Shadow Shifter flowed over the carpet and slid under the door. For a moment everything was quiet.

The door opened and Joshua held it aside for us to join him in the apartment. “I don’t know what happened in here,” he said in his thick Australian accent. “But it doesn’t look good.”

It felt like the black ball of snakes in my belly was unraveling and curling, twisting and turning.

When I walked into the apartment I caught my breath. The place was a wreck. Crystal chandeliers lay in heaps. Furniture was splintered. Cushions were ripped to shreds. Paintings hung askew or lay on the floor in broken cor wremesses. Burn marks were on the walls. Blood was splattered on the wooden floor.

Colin stepped over what had been a vase but was now only shards. “What the hell happened here?”

Angel put her hands on her hips. “Damn.”

“If he was here, I’d say Rodán put up one hell of a fight.” Olivia said.

To realize that Rodán had been in some kind of battle here, but was now missing, made me feel even sicker inside.

The whole world seemed to tilt.

Something horrible had happened to Rodán.

TEN

“Rodán is missing?”

Nadia’s words echoed in the Trackers’ conference room, where all twenty-four of us and Desmond had gathered for an emergency meeting. I’d called the group together and not an hour later everyone was there.

I had to tell myself to maintain a professional calm as I responded to Nadia. “He was last seen almost seventeen hours ago,” I said. “He missed three appointments that I know of, and as you all are aware, Rodán never misses appointments without notice.”

Several in the room nodded.

Without Rodán we didn’t have a leader, and no one knew that he had offered me a leadership position. I’d put on the mantle anyway. If there was a problem with any of the Trackers I’d deal with it then.

Angel stood at my side, her staunch support giving me a measure of comfort. The two of us weren’t enough to replace Rodán, but we’d do everything we could to find him and to keep things running in New York City.

After I explained to the Trackers all that we knew, I said, “Given all the disappearances on the West Coast, I believe we need to at least consider the possibility that he was taken.”

Just saying that made my stomach queasy.

“Do you think he was?” Lawan had surprise and concern on her face, expressions mirrored across the room.

“I don’t know.” I braced my hands on the back of the chair at the head of the table, the chair that had been Rodán’s. “But we need to be proactive, so I’ve contacted Krishna.” She was the Proctor over Long Island, Staten Island, and Ellis Island.

“Krishna put me in touch with the chairman of the Proctor Directorate.” I met the gazes of the other Trackers. “He told me he would notify all of the other Proctors of Rodán’s disappearance.”

I continued, “Chairman James will handpick a Proctor to temporarily replace Rodán.” I emphasized
temporary,
because we
would
find him.

A low murmur rolled through the Trackers that strengthened when I added, “That new Proctor will be bringing a team of twelve handpicked Trackers to fv= tha assist in finding Rodán.”

Bringing in a new team and a new Proctor was bound to stir things up, so I wasn’t surprised when I saw uneasy looks.

“Tonight the Nymphs I spoke of will be meeting with a pair of males who may have been involved in the situation,” I said. “The Nymphs believe that the males are actors pretending to be Vamps. I’m not so sure they’re just actors.”

Lawan’s dark eyes were intent as she spoke. “You seriously think that these males may be true Vampires?”

“Yes.” My emphatic response caused another stir. “Which means that Vampires might be involved in Rodán’s disappearance.”

Tracey, who was Romanian Fae, a Sânzian
, frowned. “But we defeated Volod and his people over six months ago.”

“As you know, we’ve suspected that Volod escaped.” I put my hands on the back of the chair at the head of the table. Rodán’s chair. “We can’t discount the possibility that he could be involved.”

Robert leaned back in his chair, his expression one of deep contemplation. He was a cougar Doppler, intense, focused, and silent until he was backed into a corner, or went on the offensive. When he spoke his words always meant something. “Do you think this has anything to do with the missing San Francisco Proctor and all of the Trackers?”

“It seems likely.” I gripped the back of the chair tightly. “We just don’t have the kind of information we’d need to make that determination.”

“What next, Captain?” Ice said.

Heat flushed through me. Normally Ice would have said something like that in a sarcastic tone, but tonight he sounded almost serious.

“I’m putting together a team to go back to the Nymphs’ apartment tonight for their meeting with the so-called make-believe Vamps.” I straightened and settled my hand on my sheathed Dragon-clawed dagger. “They’re supposed to arrive at their place around eleven tonight.”

No one interrupted, which I took as a good sign.

“Of course we need to make sure all of the territories are covered, so I’m going to take members of the existing special teams only.” My dagger’s grip felt comfortable in my hand as I squeezed it.

“Because the apartment is small,” I continued, “I’ll have a limited team with those who can shield themselves in glamour or shift into smaller forms. The team will include Joshua, Colin, and Ice.” I gestured to Desmond. “We can always use a Sorcerer’s services as well.”

Desmond gave a slight inclination of his head.

“Angel will handle organization of territories to make sure everything is covered on that end.” I released the hilt of my dagger. I was clenching it far too tightly. “See her if you have any questions in that regard.”

I expected some kind of comment on my taking over, but everyone seemed more intent on finding Rodán kindm">I.

Maybe it had something to do with Rodán choosing me to lead most of our special teams over the past nine months or so. They were used to me taking a leadership position.

Whatever the case, I was grateful.

When it was time to track, everyone left but the team I’d picked out to crash the Nymph-Vamp party tonight.

I gave the address of the apartment building the Nymphs lived in. We arranged to meet just outside the apartment half an hour before the Vamps—or Vamp wannabes—were supposed to arrive. That way we could get in beforehand.

“We’ll observe as long as we can to understand their approach,” I said. “When I give the signal we’ll take the Vamps into custody—if I determine that they are in fact Vampires.”

After we separated with plans intact, Colin and I walked in comfortable silence the short distance to my place. We had almost three hours left before we were to meet the rest of the team.

When we entered the apartment, my normally aloof brat of a cat ran out of the kitchen and into the entryway, straight for Colin as usual. I rolled my eyes as the Dragon picked up Kali and she started purring and rubbing against his chest.

“I’m the one who feeds you,” I said to her. “Why don’t you purr for me?”

“I can tell Kali is yours, Nyx,” Colin said as he stroked the blue Persian. “She likes to snuggle close and rub against my chest.”

“There’s a difference. I’m loyal to those who take care of me.” Kali gave me a look of disdain before she went back to purring and reveling in Colin’s gentle strokes. Well, I had to admit he was a pretty fantastic guy. “And unlike Miss Kali, I don’t shred my pretty lingerie.”

I shook my head and got out some Fancy Feast, putting it in Kali’s Waterford crystal dish. Colin set her down and she walked like a regal queen to her meal.

Colin led me into my living room. When he brought me to a stop, he wrapped his arms around me. I put my head against his chest and let myself sink against him. Some of the tension of the day lessened for the moment.

My fear for Rodán wanted to come out in a rush, and I had a difficult time holding it back. I couldn’t allow myself to think of anything bad happening to him.

“Rodán is too powerful for anyone to hurt him.” Colin kissed the top of my head and his lips tickled my scalp as he spoke. “He’s countless centuries old, Nyx. At least as old as your father.”

I met Colin’s gaze, surprise widening my eyes. “He’s as old as Father? How do you know that?”

Colin gave me a gentle smile and caressed my cheek. “You forget I have resources.”

I tilted my head to the side. “What else do you know about Rodán?”

Colin secured me tighter in his embrace as he placed his hand on the back of my head and held me close. “Things you already know, Nyx. It wouldn’t be easy to take him do ko td hwn. He’s powerful. One of the most powerful beings I have ever met. I can’t imagine that anyone could truly hurt him.”

I breathed in Colin’s masculine scent and let out a shuddering sigh. I found comfort in the clean smell of his T-shirt and his faint Dragon scent that’s a little smoky but more like a campfire in the woods. An evergreen breeze with a tinge of smoke.

“Unless they took him by surprise.” I closed my eyes and tried not to think about the mess in the apartment—and the blood. Whose blood?

Colin just held me as we stood there and I felt his warmth through the leather of my fighting suit. He felt comfortable, reassuring, almost convincing me that everything was all right. That we’d find Rodán and he’d be fine.

After I’d taken off my weapons belt and my boots, Colin and I sat on my couch. He put his arm around my shoulders and I snuggled against him as he used the TV remote to find a movie for us to watch.

Something so real and warm rose up inside me that I could barely hold back from saying anything about it to him.

My heart had healed over Adam. Not fully, because in some way I would always love Adam.

But Colin … the intensity of what I felt for him filled my chest and seemed to travel through every limb. I knew it then. Colin meant more to me than I had even realized. Could it be love, so soon after Adam? Was that possible?

My heart said yes. But my head told me to wait a little longer before I voiced it. Because when I did, I wanted it to be special. Not now when Rodán was missing and I was so worried. Later, when the time was right.

Right now while I was with Colin he helped me put aside my fears for Rodán, if only for that short window of time.

When it was time to leave I secured my weapons belt and pulled my boots on. Colin gave me a deep, sensual kiss before we left my apartment and entered the night.